Heads of Police Divisions within the NCD/Central command have recommended the village court system to help the constabulary maintain law and order.
“Village court is traditionally for the village setting. However in a place like Port Moresby where we have all sorts of cultures converging. How do we address this? This is where the peace mediators come in,” said NCD Metropolitan Superintendent Gideon Ikumu.
“When I first took office, there was a fight at Vadavada. I used the village court system,” he said,
Ikumu said by using ‘form seven’ of the village court system, people will be held accountable for their actions.
“That order is very powerful. It will list the name of the person, what they do in the community and warn him or her or stop them from causing trouble. Breach of the order can send them to jail for six months,” he said.
Central Provincial Commander John Midi said the village court system is established in all provinces in the country and must be utilized to address law and order.
“If we can manage minor crimes at the village level, we can deal with the major crimes. Village court is very important in maintaining law and order in the country. We need to go down and see how well we can partner with our village court officials,” added PPC Midi.
MetSup Ikumu and PPC Midi were speaking during the last day of a four-day workshop on compliance and strengthening accountability in the NCD/Central Command.